Legislative districts

Election 2002

Today, The Sun continues its Sept. 10 primary endorsements with state legislative races in districts 4B, 5A and 9B.

GROWTH and related water, land and school issues dominate the primary election races for General Assembly seats from Carroll County.

District 9B: Countywide issues ring particularly true in this newly created district covering the southern part of the county, home to Carroll's most explosive growth. In the county's most complex race, eight candidates -- six Republicans and two Democrats, none of them incumbents -- are vying for their parties' nominations for a single delegate's seat.

Among the six GOP candidates, current county school board President Susan W. Krebs, a longtime Eldersburg accountant and school activist, appears well-versed in the complexities of education funding, a major issue facing the state and Carroll County. She could contribute to the challenge of finding the $2 billion in additional school funding approved this year to pay for the Thornton Commision recommendations in coming years.

In the Democratic primary, Kenneth Holniker, an Eldersburg attorney and party activist, warrants support for his lengthy record of community service, including leading Carroll's United Way effort and serving on the county's liquor board and on the boards of its hospice and Habitat for Humanity programs.

District 4B: In this western Carroll district, first-time House candidate Thomas Henry Morrison of Westminster, who ran unsuccessfully for a County Commission seat in 1990, offers a firmer grasp of the issues than his opponent in the Democratic primary.

The Republican incumbent, Donald B. Elliott, a veteran of 16 years in the House, is unopposed.

In the Senate race for District 4, which covers parts of Carroll and Frederick counties, Republicans should consider backing David R. Brinkley, a two-term delegate trying to unseat incumbent Sen. Timothy R. Ferguson. Mr. Brinkley, a New Market insurance agent, says he'll maintain the district's conservative voice, but would "get along" better with Democrats to gain support for local projects. Democrat Timothy Schlauch, a Westminster businessman, is unopposed.

District 5A: All the primary candidates for this two-member House district representing north, central and eastern Carroll are running unopposed: two incumbent Republican delegates from the former District 5, Carmen Amedori and Nancy R. Stocksdale, and two Democrats, Kimberly J. Petry, a former marketing coordinator for the local cable TV company, and pediatrician Robert P. Wack.

Likewise, Democrat Ronald Zepp and Republican incumbent Larry E. Haines, a state senator for 12 years, are running unopposed in the Senate primaries for the new District 5, which encompasses parts of Carroll and Baltimore counties.